Generating Tracking Links

If you are new to Singular Attribution, learn what tracking links are, what information they can include, and how to generate them using the Create Tracking Link and Create Custom Tracking Link pages.

Tracking links are used to attribute an app installation to an ad click. In addition to basic attribution data, the links can include other properties, which will eventually be displayed in your Singular reports. This data will help give you a ricker view of your marketing efforts and results.

Smart Links - for custom marketing sources such as email or SMS campaigns.

Note: Self Attributing Networks, such as Facebook, do not require tracking links. To configure these sources, see Self Attributing Networks.

Understanding Tracking Links

When a potential user clicks on an ad, they are clicking on the tracking link, which sends them to the Singular server before redirecting them onward to the app store. Singular saves the data that was included in the tracking link. Later, if the user installs the app, the Singular attribution service can match the install to the appropriate click.

Creating a Tracking Link

Link Format

The basic format of a tracking link to be used with the Singular attribution service is as follows:

https://c.singular.net/api/v1/ad?st=[link_id]&h=[link_hash]

Note:

"st" and "h" are tracking link parameters. The more parameters you include, the more data Singular will receive about the users. See below for the full list of parameters.

"[link_id]" and "[link_hash]" are examples of macros. When you include a macro in a tracking link, the ad network replaces it with relevant information in real time when the ad is displayed to the user. Each ad network provides its own macros and is responsible for replacing them with the right data.

For example, the following tracking link includes several macros such as [GOOGLE_AD_ID] and [OS_VERSION]. When a user clicks the ad that contains this tracking link, the ad network will replace the macros with data.

In case you find that a tracking link is missing a Macro known for a specific source, please contact support@singular.net and report the missing Macro.

Using the "Generate Tracking Link" Page

The Singular app provides a page where you can enter the information you want to include in the tracking link, and have the link generated automatically with the appropriate parameters and macros.

Go to Attribution > Create Link.

Select the App, Site, and Destination URL (if you are missing a site or destination URL in the drop-down lists, refer to the Apps screen to update the missing data).

If you have selected a deeplink (or Universal Link for iOS), you can optionally mark it to also be used as a deferred deeplink. If your deeplink value is "myapp://page?id=1", then the value received in the SDK callback will be "myapp://page?id=1".

Start typing the Source name and select it from the optional list of sources. If the selected source is not configured yet, a warning message tells you to configure the source. Note that each source may have different configuration options. For more information, see Partner Configuration, Lookback Window, and Events Postbacks.

Enter the Campaign Name and select Generate Link.

Your tracking link is ready. Copy the link using the Copy button.

Using the "Create Smart Link" Page (Custom Tracking Links)

With Smart Links, you can create a single tracking link that redirects the user to different destinations depending on their device. Smart Links are useful for tracking email/SMS campaigns or any campaign with a non-integrated source.

For example, if you have an email campaign, you may want to include a tracking link with the following redirect behavior:

iOS - take the user to the iTunes App Store

Android - take the user to the Google Play Store

Other - take the user to your web site.

To create a Smart Link:

Go to Attribution > Create Smart Link.

Select the App.

In Source, select one of the offered channels (social, SMS, email, crosspromo) or choose “Custom”.

Enter the Campaign Name.

Choose the destinations and deeplinks for each platform (iOS, Android, other). Select the Deferred check box to enable deferred deeplink. If your deeplink value is "myapp://page?id=1", then the value received in the SDK callback will be "myapp://page?id=1".

Select Generate Link.

Tracking Link Parameters

Reserved Parameters

Reserved parameters are the standard or common parameters used by the Singular attribution service to properly perform and report attribution with integrated channels and partners.

Non-Reserved Parameters (Passthroughs)

Occasionally you may see parameters in tracking links which is not a reserved parameter. These parameters are generally used with specific integrations with partners, in order to "pass through" these values to the partner in the attributed postback. While they enable other more advanced use-cases for postbacks, they are not common.